This installment in our series of articles concerning education moves us from the realm of the child to the adult. As such, the emphasis of the resources shifts from education to learning, with greater responsibility placed on the student for Finding, Using, Sharing, and Expanding knowledge in a particular discipline. (If this sounds familiar, FUSE is the acronym Yahoo! uses for its mission.) As one moves from the traditional academic setting into full-fledged adulthood, training (i.e., the adoption of specific skills to complete a task) becomes increasingly important. This article begins within the academic arena and covers the use of the Web for professional and personal development, acquiring skills as (and when) needed, and exploring broader interests. Where we once had only one career, today’s students will likely have several shifts and turns in their professional lives. The Web will be one place to which they will turn as they move forward.

Higher Education

Part I of this series (“Education Searches Beyond ERIC: Government Policies, Teaching, and Technology,” Searcher, November/December 2005, p. 37+) began by looking at policy papers dealing with research and programs designed to improve teaching at the K–12 level. Similar research studies are issued addressing issues of what academic institutions can do to ensure that their students actually learn and benefit from their years of study. In the past, there was concern about athletes not having mastered anything off the field; today, we find President Bush’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education considering “a nationwide system [of standardized testing] for comparative performance purposes.” 1 A set of resources for policy research and select sources for news concerning the community of higher education appears in Table 1 on page 55.

Among the most daunting tasks facing a high school student is determining the ideal college or university to attend and crafting the application that would appeal to college admissions staff. At the same time, parents must figure out how they will pay for their child’s education. Table 2 on page 56 identifies resources helpful to students, parents, and their advisors, including links to career colleges. (A career college is a for-profit, postsecondary institution that provides professional, career-specific educational programs.) The high cost of career colleges has come under particular scrutiny. Many students are only able to attend career colleges because of significant student loans. Government officials are evaluating the quality of education provided by these schools, given the high tuition costs.

Once in school, students, faculty, and administration must work in tandem to nurture the development of future academicians and researchers. Each discipline has its own set of resources to tap. For this article, we selected the field of education to illustrate the types of resources available from academic institutions (speakers and events), faculty (course work, publications, and working papers), students (research projects), and libraries (subject guides). Table 3 on page 59 presents selected examples of these resources developed by/for academic purposes.

Learning at a Distance

While some may choose to use the sites included in Table 2 to find institutions of higher learning at home or abroad, a number of sites can help students find courses within their discipline which they can take without relocating. Distance learning opportunities were not invented with the advent of the Internet and the Web; correspondence courses, with materials delivered through the post (“snail mail”) have been in existence for a long while and persist despite the availability and accessibility of more advanced technologies. Table 4 on page 60 combines sites that do one or more of the following:

• Offer technology to university campuses/faculties for delivering coursework to registered students.

• Provide access to journals devoted to the subject of distance learning.

Continuing (Adult) Education and Lifelong Learning

Today more than ever, literacy is essential. For those who did not learn to read as children, many avenues exist to help them become literate later in life. The Web has become an excellent tool to support literacy lessons. Its distinct advantage is anonymity as people work individually through exercises accessible to all.

For those who did not complete high school, a number of Web sites can help get the education credentials necessary to participate in today’s workforce. General Education Diploma (GED) prep sites offer lessons plans for teachers (e.g., Maryland Adult Resource Center at http://www.umbc.edu/alrc/GED/Text/GEDres.html); some provide practice exams and guidance for improving writing skills.

Another major category within the education market is the use of the Web to support English as a Second Language (ESL). Some of these sites are designed to help foreign students pass language proficiency examinations before entering American universities, but these sites are valuable resources for all who seek to learn English later in life.

While reading and writing English is a concern for some adults, others are interested in learning a foreign language, either as a beginner or merely to refresh studies undertaken decades before. Web-based tutorials and practice tests abound in nearly every language imaginable. Streaming audio/video is gradually replacing audio- and videotape sales. Sites are designed for students and teachers alike, and the Web offers opportunities to locate foreign language institutes abroad, combining travel with language study.

Use of the Web to deliver course work and supplemental materials extends beyond the university. For example, the emphasis we see in college writing courses find parallels in the plethora of language course offerings via and on the Web (i.e., using the Web to locate courses as well as finding course work offered online). Table 5 on page 61 provides a modest list of resources that demonstrate the different types of sites available to assist students and teachers of language, reading, and writing.

Professional Education

Obtaining a college education is important, but many courses of study in liberal arts colleges do not necessarily prepare one for the rigors of the workplace. Companies have found themselves in the position of having to increase the number and types of courses offered to all or select employees on a just-in-time basis (for technical skills, including information technology/computing) or as part of their enterprisewide managerial and leadership development efforts. These are often referred to as “corporate universities” and are generally housed within the human resources department of large corporations.

Methods used by corporate universities to deliver a diverse set of courses to staff located in many locations — often remote from headquarters — include a mix of classroom, computer-based training (CBT), distributed readings, and Web-based seminars. The emphasis for corporate education is to improve the ability of the company to respond to opportunities in the marketplace by having a highly skilled workforce available.

Universities with master’s programs in business administration (M.B.A.) often develop executive master’s programs for corporate executives. These are accelerated programs with weekend and/or concentrated weeks-in-residence plus distance learning. Find the executive M.B.A. program right for you or your company by consulting the Business Week EMBA directory [http://bwnt.businessweek.com/embasearch/].

Curious as to what U.S. federal government employees must know to do their jobs? The official learning and development site for federal government employees appears at http://www.usalearning.gov/USALearning/ (formerly GoLearn.gov). You have to be a federal government employee in order to take the courses, but you can browse the catalog to see what is offered for those in specific positions.

Industry or field-specific learning opportunities on the Net are offered by commercial vendors, associations, and academic institutions. In some cases, the courses are offered to satisfy licensing requirements (e.g., Agents, Brokers and Adjusters Licensing Exam preparatory courses offered as part of the Center for Professional Education, Peter J. Tobin College of Business, St. John’s University [http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/graduate/tobin/education/licensing]); in others, it’s for continuing education course credit (e.g., The American Bar Association Center for Continuing Legal Education [http://www.abanet.org] offers classroom sessions and audio/computer programs within each practice). Standard & Poor’s [http://www.standardandpoors.com] is an example of vendor-provided training to improve the abilities of those involved in a particular industry, in this case, financial and credit risk. Click on the “Risk Solutions” tab and then “Credit & Risk Training” to view the offerings.

While still delivered in traditional settings, the use of the Internet to outline courses and allow individuals to register for convenient sessions is a typical first step to targeted training and industry-specific skill-building. Table 6 on page 62 includes some of the more interesting approaches employed by commercial vendors, associations, institutions offering vocational training, and corporate universities.

Education Never Ends, Still ...

The final installment of this series on education will highlight strategies for e-learning, attaining technical expertise for computing/information technology, tutorials for learning and teaching effective use of the Internet, and resources for information professional development.

Cheat at Your Own Risk!

The Web has made it easier to identify and copy another’s work, and students at all levels must understand that plagiarism is bad practice with potentially dire consequences, both while they are in school and throughout their working career.

Table 1. Policy Research for Institutions of Higher Learning

Academic Impressions [http://www.academicimpressions.com]
Site’s mission is to foster dialogue and address issues in a multidisciplinary manner by creating an environment specially suited to discussions about emerging trends in higher education and issuing Higher-Ed Daily News Update and a weekly, Executive Update.

American Council on Education [http://www.acenet.edu//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home]
The American Council on Education, the major coordinating body for all the nation’s higher-education institutions, seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher-education issues and to influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.

Association of American Colleges and Universities [http://www.aacu-edu.org/]
“Leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantage of a liberal education to all students, regardless of their academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915 by college presidents, AAC&U now represents the entire spectrum of American colleges and universities — large and small, public and private, two-year and four-year.”

Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institute [http://www.brookings.edu/browncenter]
Provides research on topics in American education, focusing on efforts to improve academic achievement in elementary and secondary schools.

Center for Higher Education Policy Studies [http://www.utwente.nl/cheps/]
“An interdisciplinary research-institute located at the faculty of Public Administration and Public Policy of the Universiteit Twente, the Netherlands. Since 1984, CHEPS has undertaken and published a considerable amount of research on higher education especially at system and institutional levels. CHEPS seeks to increase our understanding of institutional, national and international issues that bear upon Higher Education.” Selected publications can be downloaded in English, such as “Issues in higher education policy: An update on higher education policy issues in 2004 in 11 Western countries.”

Chronicle of Higher Education [http://chronicle.com/]
This is the number-one source of news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty members and administrators.

CollegeNews.org [http://www.collegenews.org]
Liberal arts college news, editorials, story ideas, and source leads for journalists and other information relevant to higher education in the U.S.

Higher Education Statistics Agency [http://www.hesa.ac.uk/]
Statistical publications, data, performance indicators, and training seminars concerning the state of higher education in the U.K. Good list of links for researchers in the U.K.

Institute for Higher Education Policy [http://www.ihep.com/]
“The mission of the Institute for Higher Education Policy is to foster access and success in postsecondary education through public policy research and other activities that inform and influence the policymaking process.” Good list of resources on this site.

Liberal Arts College News [http://www.collegenews.org/]
Provides liberal arts college news, editorials, story ideas, and source leads for journalists, and other information relevant to higher education in the U.S.

NCHEMS Information Center for State Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis [http://www.higheredinfo.org/]
Effort to provide higher-education policymakers and analysts with the data and information needed to make sound policy decisions. Compare state data, consult answers to important quality questions, and create your own data sets and maps.

National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education [http://www.highereducation.org/]
Promotes public policies that enhance Americans’ opportunities to pursue and achieve high-quality education and training beyond high school. Reports on subjects such as Access and affordability, College-level learning, Evaluating state performance, Finance, Governance, K–16, Public opinion.

Society for College and University Planning [http://www.scup.org/]
Association is focused on the promotion, advancement, and application of effective planning in higher education. Site features professional development opportunities; publications, such as the society’s quarterly peer-reviewed journal, Planning for Higher Education; and online knowledge center.

Standards for Success [http://ceprnet.uoregon.edu/cepr.products.php]
“Understanding University Success describes foundational skills and content
standards (elsewhere referred to as Knowledge and Skills for University Success) in English, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, second languages and the arts. The 80-page booklet addresses each discipline in a separate chapter. Each chapter comprises two sections: foundations and standards. The foundations section describes the skills, behaviors and attitudes expected of incoming students. The standards section lists the content knowledge that helps maximize the probability of success in entry-level university courses.” Downloadable from this site.

State Science & Teaching Institute Weekly Digest [http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm]
This “nationwide network of practitioners and policymakers dedicated to improving the economy through science and technology” issues a Weekly Digest that includes some useful statistical indices as a supplement.

AccessGroup [http://www.accessgroup.org/]
Nonprofit, mission-driven organization committed to providing “education financing to the broadest range of eligible students,” as well as to positively influencing education financing practices and providing services valued by students and schools.

Association of American Colleges and Universities [http://www.aacu-edu.org/]
Founded in 1915, this leading national association is concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Programs, initiatives, resources, and publications are organized to advance the following four actions critical to the future of undergraduate education in the 21st century:
• Preparing all students for an era of greater expectations
• Educating students for a world lived in common
• Making excellence inclusive
• Taking responsibility for the quality of every student’s learning

College and University Profiles [http://www.collegeprofiles.com/]
In-depth college profiles containing information about academic programs, athletics, campus life, facilities, expenses, and financial aid. From each profile, you can link directly to the home page of each institution. Search features allow you to select schools by location, cost, and majors offered. Geographic directory includes Canadian, Catholic, Christian, Women’s, Black, and 2-year colleges; adult and career continuing education; and distance learning.

College Board [http://www.collegeboard.com]
In addition to information concerning SAT tests (and practice sessions with the SATs), the site offers help to students planning to go to college, tools for finding a college, and completing applications. Similar assistance (e.g., test preparation, financial aid) can be found at http://www.admissiontests.org/?org=drew.

CollegeNet.com [http://www.collegenet.com/]
CollegeNET, Inc. provides “over 1500 customized Internet admissions applications built for college and university programs. When applying to more than one program you save redundant typing since common data automatically travels from form to form.”

CollegeSource Online [http://www.collegesource.org/home.asp]
A virtual library representing 31,928 college catalogsin full cover-to-cover, original page format with 2-year, 4-year, graduate, professional and international schools

College Answer [http://www.collegeanswer.com/index.jsp]
College Answer (formerly known as Wiredscholar) offers “pointers on the entire ‘Going-to-College’ process from preparation to getting loans. College Answer also has interactive tools that enable you to analyze the affordability of schools, compare financial aid award letters, and search for scholarships.” College Answer is a service of Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading provider of education funding. Additional information to help students and parents plan for college, apply, and manage loans may be found on the Sallie Mae Web site [http://www.salliemae.com].

EduPass: The SmartStudent Guide to Studying in the USA [http://www.edupass.org/]
Information for students coming to the U.S. to study, including college admissions, financing, English as a second language, passports and visas, traveling to the U.S., cultural differences, living in the U.S., and ask the advisor

FastWeb College Financial Aid and Scholarship Finder [http://fastweb.monster.com/]
Source of local, national, and college-specific scholarships; search and compare detailed college profiles, including tailored scholarship matches; part-time jobs around the corner, internships around the country; insider tips for winning scholarships and preparing for your future

FinAid! The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid [http://www.finaid.com]
Search for scholarships; find information about different kinds of loans and savings plans; learn how to get education aid from the military.

Financial Aid Information from the Reference Service Press [http://www.rspfunding.com/index.html]
Information on scholarships, fellowships, loans, grants, awards, internships, and other types of funding opportunities

Higher Education Resource Hub [http://www.higher-ed.org/]
“The goal of this evolving website is to provide a comprehensive collection of information resources in the field of higher education throughout the world.”

Hot Courses [http://www.hotcourses.com]
Use Hotcourses to search the U.K.’s largest and most accurate database of educational opportunities: undergraduate courses, postgraduate, and adult learning.

MBA Info — The MBA Program Information Site [http://www.mbainfo.com]
Details of over 2,700 M.B.A. degree programs from over 1,400 universities and colleges in 126 countries.

Search for Study Abroad Programs [http://iiepassport.org]
The Institute of International Education offers this quality site for exploring options of study outside the U.S.

Merit Money [http://www.meritmoney.com/index.htm]
Site has channels to help high school students with good grades find financial resources to pay for college and to help their parents, high school counselors, financial professionals, and college administrators.

SRN Express [http://www.srnexpress.com/index.cfm]
“Scholarship Resource Network Express contains a database of over 8,000 programs with a distribution level of over 150,000 awards for undergraduate and postgraduate students…. This database also includes student loan forgiveness programs for those who have graduated from college and need alternatives for repayment.”

Saving for College [http://www.savingforcollege.com/]
“Source for objective information about Section 529 college savings plans and other ways to save and pay for college…. We compile and analyze the information that will help parents and financial professionals ease the pain of constantly rising tuition.”

SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid [http://www.finaid.org/]Information on scholarships, loans, savings and military aid

Thomson Gale’s Testing & Education Reference Center [http://www.gale.com/Testing&Education/index.htm]
“Helps users prepare for higher education and the working world by teaming with Thomson Peterson’s to deliver detailed information on private high schools, undergraduate and graduate programs and executive education programs, searchable by location, major, tuition, sports and more. This online education resource provides everything a student needs to learn more about further education and assists in making informed decisions on their future from one single, handy database. Testing & Education Reference Center also features interactive online practice tests for preparatory examinations including entrance exams and certification and licensing tests.”

University and College Directory [http://www.university-directory.org/]
Comprehensive directory of higher education accredited colleges, universities, and career education schools and career learning institutions. Browse by state option.

Xap Student Center [http://www.xap.com/]
Plan, explore, and apply to college using these great tools.

Table 3. Courses of Study and Subject-Specific Research

Education conference listings service [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/conflist.htm]
Search worldwide coverage by date (month/year). Many of the conference proceedings are available from Interdok [http://www.interdok.com]. Subscribe to Conference Alerts [http://www.conferencealerts.com] to receive free e-mailed updates of academic conferences matching your interests, available dates, and preferred destinations worldwide.

Selected Web Sites of Importance to College/University Education Librarians [http://www.uncc.edu/cimc/]
Webliography produced by the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section, Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL/ALA)

Social Science Information Gateway — Education [http://www.sosig.ac.uk/education/]
Search the resources, browse by subsection, link to one of these quality education resources (listed by type of resource) or the Top 50 Popular Sites in Education.

Social Science Research Network [http://www.ssrn.com]
“World wide collaborative of leading scholars that is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of social science research” providing access to working papers in accounting, economics, financial economics, information systems, legal scholarship, management, marketing, negotiations, and social insurance

Taylor & Francis Education Arena [http://www.educationarena.com/educationarena/index.html]
“Value-added resource site which aims to build a community centred (sic) on education and educational research.” Access provided to articles from education journals and links to discussion lists. Trial of Educational Research Abstracts Online (ERA) is available.

Teaching and Learning on the Web [http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/tl/brain.html]
“Examples of how the web is being used as a medium for learning.” Site also contains “an online workshop, What a Site! Finding, Evaluating, Sharing, and Taking ‘em Home, that is geared towards instructors who would like to find and use web resources in their specific subject area.”

Table 4. Tooling Up and Out

Campus Technology [http://www.campus-technology.com/index.asp] Campus Technology provides in-depth, aggressive coverage of specific technologies, their uses and implementations, including enterprise resource planning; e-learning and course management systems; presentation technologies; communication, portal, and security solutions — all the important issues and trends for campus IT decision makers. Launched in October 2004, Campus Technology replaced the highly respected Syllabus magazine, a recognized leader in the coverage of technology on campus since 1988.

Distance Education Clearinghouse [http://www.uwex.edu/disted/home.html]
Managed and maintained by the University of Wisconsin-Extension, this comprehensive and widely recognized Web site brings together distance education information from international sources. Site contains definitions, news, announcements of conferences and events, organizations and associations, journals and readings. Search for programs and courses by method of delivery. documents included on the site cover teaching and learning, research and statistics, policies and guidelines, distance education community, and learning environment, including links to online discussion groups.

Distance Learning Information and Degree Finder [http://www.degreeinfo.com/]
Search over 300 regionally accredited distance learning programs to find the perfect program. Site contains articles for students/prospective students and teachers and industry analysts as well as discussion fora.

eCollege [http://www.ecollege.com]
Provides a comprehensive outsource solution to support the profitable growth of online distance programs for publicly traded for-profit institutions, community colleges, and public and private universities.

Managed Learning Environments [http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=mle_home]
Managed Learning Environment (MLE) refers to the whole range of information systems and processes of a college or university (including its Virtual Learning Environment if it has one) that contribute directly, or indirectly, to learning and the management of that learning. This site investigates pedagogical flexibility and innovation in the design and use of e-learning tools, environments, and architectures.

Multimedia Education Resource for Learning Online Teaching [http://www.merlot.org/Home.po]
Free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments.

National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education — NCLE [http://www.cal.org/caela/]
Operates in conjunction with ERIC/CLL, but focuses its efforts on literacy education for adults learning English as a second language.

National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Education Programs [http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/]
Collects, analyzes, synthesizes, and disseminates information about language instruction educational programs for English language learners and related programs.

National Institute for Literacy [http://www.nifl.gov/]
Provides national leadership regarding literacy, coordinates literacy services and policy, and serves as a national resource for adult education and literacy programs. Use the icons at the bottom to connect to America’s Literacy Directory [http://www.literacydirectory.org/] and the Literacy Information and Communication System [http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/].

ProLiteracy Worldwide [http://www.proliteracy.org/]
ProLiteracy Worldwide is “the oldest and largest nongovernmental literacy organization in the world and pursues a mission of sponsoring educational programs that help adults and their families acquire the literacy practices and skills they need to function more effectively in their daily lives.”

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab [http://owl.english.purdue.edu/oldindex.html]
Older version of the OWL contains handouts and materials for students and teachers, PowerPoint presentations and hypertext workshops, and links to other writing labs.

Web English Teacher [http://www.webenglishteacher.com/]
“At Web English Teacher educators can take advantage of online technology to share ideas and to benefit from the work of others. Beginning teachers can find guidance; experienced teachers can find inspiration. Think of it as the faculty library and faculty workroom on a global scale.”

Table 6. Lifelong Learning and Learning in the Workplace

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) [http://www.aarp.org/learntech/lifelong/]
Discusses the importance of lifelong learning; concentrates on topics in learning and computers/technology, including finance, health and well-being, and family caregiving.

American Society for Training & Development [http://www.astd.org/astd]
Perhaps best known for T + D (formerly, Training & Development magazine)

CSTD [http://www.cstd.ca]
This professional association’s Web site includes links to useful resources for workplace learning and performance practitioners.

Corporate University Xchange [http://www.corpu.com/]
“CUX provides research-backed expertise to optimize, improve upon, and add to learning and development programs to achieve successful business outcomes.”

European Center for the Development of Vocational Training [http://www.cedefop.eu.int/]
EU’s reference center for vocational education and training

Free Education on the Internet [http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/FreeEdMain01.asp]Courses and tutorials for vocational and academic disciplines offered entirely for free and made available on the Net.

Gateway to Research on Education in Europe [http://www.b.shuttle.de/wifo/index.htm]
Links to resources on European research in vocational education and training (VET) and human resource development (HRD). Includes selected overviews on experts, networks, papers and projects, 2000–2003.

The Guidance Council [http://www.guidancecouncil.com/]
This Web site of the independent campaigning body for career guidance in the U.K. provides links to career information, advice and guidance services that will help you progress in learning and work.

Training Zone [http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/]
An information service and online community for professionals engaged in staff and organizational learning and development

VNU Learning [http://www.vnulearning.com/learninggroup/index.jsp]
From the latest developments in training, online learning, and knowledge management to the most cutting-edge tools and techniques in performance support and presentation design and delivery, VNULearning.com’s world-class events provide guidance and focus on training and education in the working world.